[Grem] An Encyclical on Islam? / W.Kilpatrick

[Emoke Greschik]

An Encyclical on Islam? William Kilpatrick
<http://www.crisismagazine.com/author/william-kilpatrick>
http://www.crisismagazine.com/2016/an-encyclical-on-islam [image: mit
brennender Sorge Titel Seite]

*It was heartening to hear* Pope Francis denounce the Armenian genocide
even though he knew it would incur the anger of the Turkish government
(which denies the genocide charge). *Dr. Lawrence Franklin
<http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8337/pope-francis-protect-flock>*, who
was the Iran Desk Officer for Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, took the
occasion as an opportunity to* pen an article suggesting the Pope might do
more to combat radical Islam.*

One of his suggestions is* for the Pope to issue an encyclical condemning**
radical Islam*. This, says Franklin, could be modeled on two encyclicals
issued by Pope Pius XI—*Mit Brennender Sorge* and *Divini Redemptoris*. The
first condemned the Nazi doctrine of racial supremacy, and the second was a
criticism of communist ideology. Among other things, Franklin suggests
<http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8337/pope-francis-protect-flock> that
the Pope could “challenge Islamic leaders to institute specific reforms
which would root out theological justification for violent and intolerant
behavior.”

Considering his generally accommodative attitude toward Islam, it’s
difficult to imagine Francis taking such steps. But supposing that a pope
or a bishops’ conference were to “challenge Islamic leaders to institute
specific reforms,” what should those reforms look like?

Michael Weiss, the author of *ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror*
<https://www.amazon.com/ISIS-Inside-Terror-Michael-Weiss/dp/1941393578?ie=UTF8&keywords=ISIS%2C%20Weiss&qid=1436491606&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1>
observed that ISIS warriors had a casual attitude towards death because of
their certainty that their jihad activities would be rewarded in a
paradisiacal hereafter. *We often hear that we must defeat* *the ideology
that inspires ISIS, but virgins-in-paradise is a central part of that
ideology.*

So, should Islamic leaders be challenged to “root out” this theological
justification for violence? And how likely is it that they would comply?
After all, the virgin-reward theme can be found in numerous passages in the
Koran (yes, I’ve heard the argument that “virgins” really means “raisins,”
but I don’t find it very convincing). It’s not just ISIS warriors that
yearn for the Islamic version of the afterlife.

*The problem with rooting out jihadist ideology is that its roots are
firmly wrapped around the Koran, the Hadith, and the Sira (The Life of
Muhammad).* Speaking of the latter,* it’s a central tenet of Islam that
Muhammad was the perfect man in every respect.* Muslims are expected to
model their lives after his example. But that is what ISIS and similar
groups claim to be doing.* If you’ve read the Sira, you know that it’s
filled with accounts of raids, mass beheadings, and assassinations ordered
by Muhammad. As recorded in detail in the Sira and in the Hadith, Muhammad
also sanctioned the rape of captives and ordered that women and children be
sold into slavery.* So the jihadists have an excellent case that they are
merely following in the founder’s footsteps.

*In short, Muhammad himself is a large part of the “theological
justification for violent and intolerant behavior.” *Will Islamic leaders
renounce Muhammad and root him out of their religion? That’s not likely to
happen, since the validity of the faith stands or falls with him. *Can
Muslim teachers and imams work instead to soften the image of Muhammad by
emphasizing his kinder, gentler side? Yes, they can and they have. In many
popular accounts of Muhammad’s life, he is portrayed as a saintly figure
who spent much of his time caring for widows and orphans and bringing
freedom to the oppressed.*

But it’s exactly because some Islamic leaders have diluted Islam in this
fashion that *they command little,** if any, respect from the jihadis.
Jihadists claim that such people are apostates who have betrayed Islam and
corrupted its pure message.* In his article, Franklin says that the Pope
“could call upon Muslims of good will to summon their courage to recapture
their faith.” But recapturing the faith is exactly the project to which
jihadists and the theorists of jihad have dedicated themselves. In short,
how can you write an encyclical condemning radical Islam without condemning
Islam itself?

There may come a time for a pope to issue an encyclical on Islam, but now
is probably not the right time. *Right now, Catholic leaders (and that
includes the Pope) do not seem to have a clear understanding of Islam or
what, if anything, distinguishes it from so-called “radical Islam.”* *Many
Catholic leaders still subscribe to the good Islam/bad Islam
<http://www.crisismagazine.com/2016/good-islam-vs-bad-islam> dichotomy
which absolves Islamic theology of any connection to Islamic extremism and
intolerance.* As long as they persist in this erroneous belief, they will
continue to be surprised when “good” Muslims suddenly morph into “bad”
Muslims.

An encyclical at this time would only further muddy the already murky water
which surrounds the subject of Islam. It will take some time for the
Vatican to gain the clarity necessary for such an important undertaking.*
But it’s becoming* *painfully clear **that a change of course is needed*.
The current policy of treating Islam as though it were simply a
rough-around-the-edges variation on the Judeo-Christian tradition has
failed completely.

*If and when an encyclical is to be issued, it could, as Franklin says, be
modeled on Mit Brennender Sorge or Divini Redemptoris, but that would mean
critiquing the totalitarian nature of Islam as Pius XI criticized* *the
oppressive nature of Nazism and communism.* *That would also mean talking
frankly about* *what is wrong with Islamic theology*—*showing* *where it
goes off the tracks **and itemizing **its misunderstandings about **the
nature of God and man*. *Such an encyclical would also have to condemn **many
aspects of sharia law **as being opposed to* *the goodness of God and the
good of mankind. *This would be in keeping with Pius XI’s condemnation of
the Nuremburg racial laws. *The blasphemy laws and apostasy laws* *should
come in for particular condemnation.*

*An encyclical on Islam could acknowledge that in different times and
places, Muslims have succeeded in humanizing Islam to some extent. **But it
should be noted that this softening of Islam was largely the result of
contact with other cultures and religions,* not because of any virtue
inherent in Islam itself. *Credit should also be given to those individual
Muslims who by following their consciences and the laws of the true God
written on their hearts have managed to rise above* *the crueler aspects of
their faith.*

This may sound harsh and, to some ears, triumphalist. However,* the primary
purpose of an encyclical is to teach, not to please. *Encyclicals are often
written to address crises about which there is a good deal of confusion.
They are meant to shed light on disputed issues. Moreover,* the primary
audience for an encyclical is Catholics*, followed by other Christians. *An
encyclical on Islam should not be written* *with the aim of avoiding
offense to Muslims*, *but with the aim of preventing harm to Christians *who,
because of confusion about Islam, are susceptible to conversion or
interfaith marriage, or who, because of ignorance of its tenets, are
unprepared for attacks and persecution.

*Would such an encyclical go against* *the spirit of the times?** It
certainly would, but then, so did Mit Brennender Sorge, Divini Redemptoris,
Humanae Vitae, and numerous other encyclicals. Would it offend many
Muslims? Again, yes. But then, Mit Brennender Sorge offended* *many Germans
(recall that it was published in early 1937 when Nazism was popular not
only in Germany, but also among many Western elites)*. It could be
countered that although there were only 70 million citizens in Nazi
Germany, there are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. And—how does the
question go—“*do you want to criticize the faith of 1.6 billion people?”
Well, yes we do. *And the reason that we should criticize this rapidly
growing and aggressively proselytizing faith is that,* if we don’t, it may
soon become the faith of 7.6 billion people—that is to say, the entire
population of the planet.*

Tagged as Islam <http://www.crisismagazine.com/tags/islam>, Lawrence
Franklin <http://www.crisismagazine.com/tags/lawrence-franklin>, Pope Pius
XI <http://www.crisismagazine.com/tags/pope-pius-xi>, Vatican public policy
<http://www.crisismagazine.com/tags/vatican-public-policy>
<http://www.crisismagazine.com/2016/an-encyclical-on-islam#>
<http://www.crisismagazine.com/2016/an-encyclical-on-islam#>
<http://www.crisismagazine.com/2016/an-encyclical-on-islam#>
<http://www.crisismagazine.com/2016/an-encyclical-on-islam#>
<http://www.crisismagazine.com/2016/an-encyclical-on-islam#> 27
<http://www.crisismagazine.com/2016/an-encyclical-on-islam#>
[image: William Kilpatrick]By William Kilpatrick
<http://www.crisismagazine.com/author/william-kilpatrick>

William Kilpatrick taught for many years at Boston College. He is the
author of several books about cultural and religious issues, including
*Psychological
Seduction; Why Johnny Can’t Tell Right From Wrong;* and Christianity, Islam
and Atheism: The Struggle for the Soul of the West
<http://www.amazon.com/Christianity-Islam-Atheism-Struggle-Soul/dp/158617696X>
and the forthcoming The Politically Incorrect Guide to Jihad
<https://www.amazon.com/Politically-Incorrect-Guide-Jihad-Guides/dp/1621575772/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467592202&sr=1-1&keywords=the+politically+incorrect+guide+to+jihad>.
His articles have appea

red in numerous publications, including *Catholic World Report, National
Catholic Register, Aleteia, Saint Austin Review, Investor’s Business Daily,*
and *First Things*. His work is supported in part by the Shillman
Foundation. For more on his work and writings, visit his website,
turningpointproject.com
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